Before the Dawn
by Heart no Tegami
Summary: When rumors of a possible alliance between Orochimaru and a certain dark wizard reaches Akatsuki's ears, Pein decides to send out for reinforcements from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. AU/AR, ItaSaku, Set in 6th year
1. Mission Briefing

Author's note: My first story! Yay! :) About the title... It was previously called _Harry Potter and the Hidden Village of Silence_, but I just thought up this one and liked it a lot better. Sorry for any confusion!

Disclaimer. I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter and I never will. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.K. Rowling respectively.

* * *

_"...ra?"_

_"Could it be...?"_

_"Sakura, is that really you?"_

_"Sakura-chan!"_

_"Hn."_

_"N-no way..."_

_"Sakura."_

She woke up in a cold sweat. Her eyes swirled wildly around the room, her throat raw from screaming. She couldn't recall it being an actual nightmare, but it terrified her all the same.

"S...Sakura-chan, un?" The girl sat up in bed, pulling her unruly locks out of her face. The pale hall light shone through the door where a worried blonde stood. He didn't even have time to put on his robe- or a shirt for that matter-, she noted dryly, hoping she didn't wake up the whole base. Maybe he was just passing her room at, uh, 1:32 in the morning and decided to make sure she didn't fall asleep at her desk, er, sharpening her katana and re-poisoning her senbon... Hopefully.

"D-Deidara." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Is everything all right?" He smirked half heartedly.

"You tell me, un. You woke up the rest with your screaming." _Damn_. Her forehead creased in a frown.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Another dream?"

"... Yes." Deidara walked over to the edge of her bed and swung his arm around her shoulder. Sakura sighed and rested her head on his arm, her eyelids feeling heavy as her heart beat steadied in her chest.

* * *

She must have dosed off eventually, because the next time she opened her eyes the sun was just starting to peek around her heavy curtains.

Deidara was shaking her arm. "Sakura-chan~! Let's go let's go let's go!" He whined, "It's already morning, un! Get _up_. I wanna _train_."

She snorted. "Alright, alright. Go wait outside, dummy." Pushing the surprisingly- considering how much sleep he got- energetic blonde into the hall, she set about her work.

When she joined Deidara in the yard, the older boy was already stretched out and warmed up. His Akatsuki cloak abandoned on the ground a few feet away, the mouths on his hands chewing on bits of clay to keep them busy. He glanced over his shoulder at her. "You're late, un."

"Pft, whatever." She tied her cloak around her waist, sending little waves of chakra through out her body. Flexing her fingers, she smiled brightly at her partner. "So what is it today? Ninjutsu? Weapons? If it's Genjutsu, we might want to wait for Itachi to wake up. I'm fine at dispelling it, but casting is harder for me." The blonde made a face.

"That bastard? Don't need him, un. Taijutsu match, no chakra, projectile weapons only. Ready?"

Sakura smirked. _These Akatsuki guys and their "male pride."_ As the self-proclaimed head master of her training for the last two years since her arrival, he should know more then anyone- save, perhaps, Pein- that there was no match for her in Taijutsu. But whatever. "Whenever you are."

"Aaaaand... Go!"

* * *

"You two are up early," The voice broke through their concentration. Glancing to the porch, Deidara snorted and rolled his eyes. Sakura shot him a look.

"Good morning, Itachi."

"Ah."

"Looks like you did quite a bit of damage, hell cat. Look what you did to Zetsu's garden," A deeper, rough voice snickered. Sakura laughed. "By the way, rumor has it that Dei-chan here went into your room late last night shirtless and only came out this morning. So...? Did he finally grow the balls to-"

The blonde flushed furiously. "Sh-shut up, un!"

"Oh be quiet, Kisame. Deidara wouldn't do that! I keep telling you, we're only friends." Sakura turned away, unable to see Deidara's face as it fell in disappointment, weakly agreeing. She swiped at her forehead with the back of her hand and sighed, satisfied with the ending result of the sparring match. Surveying the field, she gave a rueful grin. Zetsu _was_ going to be upset after all. Quickly she strode across the yard and retrieved her scattered kunai and shuriken.

By the time she returned, Itachi and Deidara were having a glare off, sending out the occasional insult. Kisame was looking on with much amusement and gave a half-hearted attempt to play peacemaker without much success. Sakura rolled her eyes. It was no secret that the two didn't get along; that was an understatement. They hated each others guts for some reason or another and the only ones who knew that reason were the ex-Mist nin and Sasori. All Sakura knew was that it was far beyond the simple "oh, I hate your fricken' guts because your stupid bloodline and one day I'm going to kill you for it you dumb wrinkles bastard" story- from Deidara's point of view of course, since Itachi would never admit to possessing actual _feelings_- that was already well known in the shinobi world; or so Kisame claimed. Frankly, Sakura doubted anything that came from older man's mouth since it was usually belted out in a tangled mess of booze and belches. And since Sasori plain refused to voice his opinion on the matter, it often left Sakura in the dark.

Something inside Sakura stirred as she approached the three shinobi. It was... familiar. This was a daily occurrence, but- no. It was different today. She winced as the burning sensation gathered at her temples. Nearly as painful as her nightmares, she noted. When Itachi saw her face scrunched up in pain, the bickering silenced.

"Hey, Sakura-chan? Are you alright, un?"

"Ah... Yeah." She shook her head to clear the thoughts. The pain stopped and left her with an image. A young blonde, a boy with dark raven hair, and an older silver-haired man. The two boys were arguing, though she couldn't place the words. The man was laughing. In her mind, she was facing the group but instead of looking down on the obviously younger boys, she was almost looking up. And she couldn't see their faces. In turn they were just raw emotions and voices.

"Another?" Itachi asked. Sakura nodded mutely.

"... Was it a memory this time?" Kisame asked. The three missing-nin couldn't think of anything to say. Wordlessly, they watched the teenager collapse in front of them. She looked so... so _vulnerable._ It was an uncomfortable change.

"I-I think so. It was when I was... young?" Sakura angrily swiped at the burning sensation in her eyes. _Stop it. Kunoichi do not cry. Number 25... Don't! So what if I can't remember... I don't care-_

"Itachi-san. Kisame-san. Sakura-san. Deidara-san." A woman's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Why the hell's my name last, un?"

"Shut up!" Sakura elbowed him in the ribs, her earlier experience all but forgotten. She turned and smiled sweetly at the woman. "Yes, Konan-neesan?"

"Leader-sama requests the four of you in his quarters." Konan nodded to them before disappearing inside the base.

"No time for a shower? Fine, meetings come first," Sakura muttered as she retrieved her Akatsuki cloak and fallen hitai-ate. She paused, running her thumb lightly over the large slash that ran through the middle of the black note. _Shizugakure..._ She mused, following the others through the winding corridors, _I wonder if I can return one day... _No of course not. Missing nin only returned to their villages for execution and the bounty on their head paid off. Oto no Kuni would never want her back.

The dark corridor branched out wide. Shadows jumped at them in the flickering lamp light as the four bowed deeply to the figure before them.

"Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Sakura Raikoune, Deidara. As you may or may not know, the Nine Tailed Demon fox has returned to Konoha." They started to nod. Understood. They were being placed on a mission to retrieve- "But that is not our biggest concern at the moment. Orochimaru is been growing more powerful as of late, and my sources tell me he is no longer in the shinobi countries, but over sees and gaining allies as we speak. Particularly the aid of a powerful dark wizard. Your mission is to infiltrate Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and convince them to join us. We are fortunate enough to be granted this oppertunity by their leader, on one condition. You four are to keep an eye on two of their students. One you must protect at all costs, the other you must report to him on all you see. Any questions?"

They were baffled to say the least. Even Itachi's usually cool demeanor was cracked. He was the first to find his tongue. "Witchcraft and Wizardry? With all do respect, Leader-sama..."

"That seems a little far fetched," Sakura finished. Pein nodded.

"It may seem so, but even so this is an oppurtunity we can not afford to lose. If this information is correct, we must act at once to stop him. However, if indeed these rumors prove false, we would still have hundreds on our side."

Even Konan looked confused. "B-but Pein, what about the demons? We already assigned Sasori and Hid-"

"I will send out the others on a retrieval mission. Since Hidan and Kakuzu will never tire, they will be the ones to keep him in check until you four return." The red head turned back to the waiting shinobi. "Itachi, you are leader for this mission. I trust you will not fail me."

He bowed. "Of course not, Leader-sama."

"Report back to me in one hour. Bring enough supplies to last at least six months. This is a long term mission. If need be, I will send more to you in the future. Itachi, a moment before you leave."

* * *

"Witchcraft and Wizardry, huh?" Sakura mused as she wrapped her kantana sheath in a soft red fabric before stowing it in her shoulder pack. Stepping back, she surveyed her work. If the mission was only for six months, she didn't really need much. Konan-neesan had told her on the way back to her room that the terrain was mostly safe, and that hundreds of students could live on the school grounds for the full seven years without getting attacked once, not to mention all the teachers at the school could protect them from a massive outbreak with little to no outside help needed. But Sakura was not one to take chances.

"Medical supplies," she shook a clear bottle full of blue pills and gave it a shake before stowing it in her pouch along with six others. "check. Kunai, shuriken, and senbon sharp...?" She pricked her finger on the end and gazed briefly at the gathering crimson before sealing it up with a tiny burst of chakra. "Uh-huh. Training clothes, yup, spare cloak, got it, Danna's specialty poison," she gazed at the dark grey gunk the older medical nin had gifted her the year before. _"Just in case that brat gives you any trouble_," he had winked. With a smile, she tossed it in as well. "Check. All set."

Pack in hand, she took one more glance around the room and started to turn away before a glint of silver caught her eye. Reaching her hand for it, she emerged from a small pile of old clothes with a strip of dark blue cloth between her fingers. And upon that cloth was a worn, dusty piece of silver. In the center was a beautifully engraved spiral with a small triangle connected to the left of it. _Konohagakure_. _Haven't seen this in a while,_ she mused, _old piece of junk._ Snorting, she raised her arm back to throw it across the room. Just as she was about to release, something seemed to stop her. Sakura lowered her arm and stared at the hitai-ate once more.

_Why can't I...-_ her thoughts trailed off. She felt her fingers trail up to the slashed forehead protector she now wore.

She recalled how Leader-sama gently insisted she replaced the old ratty blue material that held her village's mark in place with a pure white one, how she couldn't say no and didn't think twice about her decision. Kakuzu had questioned her on it afterwards. How could she think of changing anything about her only ties to home? Even if she was Akatsuki, none of the others could even imagine abandoning the hitai-ate; full of memories and missions even if they were terrible. Sakura couldn't answer that question then, and still couldn't now. She never felt the tugs of emotion towards the metal slate, dismissing it as something to regain along with her memories. _So why this...?_

Something wasn't making sense. Konohagakure no Sato, Shizugakure no Sato, Akatsuki. The villages hidden in both leaves and silence, and their "enemies." Nothing tied them together. Nothing could. The only exception was Orochimaru, right? Sakura shook her head clear. Her thoughts weren't making sense anymore. Without another backwards glance she carefully placed the old hitai-ate in her pack and shut the door behind her.

* * *

"She _what_?"

The woman sighed and placed her half-full bottle of sake on a neglected stack of unsigned documents. Her assistant whimpered, pleading for her to do her job. "I just told you, brat."

"B-but... It can't be true! Sakura-chan's too strong for that!"

"I know!" The Hokage snapped. At the blonde's shock she composed herself once more. Well, as composed as she could be while drunk. "Sakura Haruno was perhaps one of the most talented girls I've ever trained, perhaps as good as Shizune." She gave a brief nod to the dark haired girl in the corner. "Shizune, read the report from that day."

"Yes Lady Tsunade." Reaching to the highest tower of paperwork, she retrieved a thick manila folder and opened to the first page. "Sakura Haruno. Chuunin. Age 14. Missing in action, assumedly captured by enemy nin. Mission was to escort one of the village elders to visit her granddaughter in the Fire City of Tanzakugai a few miles away. Her entourage was a high class team of jounin consisting of Tadashi Ishida, age 23, Karina Tanaka, age 25, and cell leader and ANBU captain Kouzuki Yamada, aka Beaver, age 31. The team reported via messenger hawk about their mission's success and how they were departing from the village an hour after the message arrived. However they never showed up and when the area was scouted, the team was found slaughtered nearly an hour's run away but her body was not found. There were signs of a struggle and her blood was splattered on the ground, but not enough to kill her. Her chakra trail was cold and there were no leads in any directions."

Tsunade leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Even when the Inuzuka clan set out, nothing was found. The Hyuugas and Aburames both came up empty handed."

"So there's nothing we can do?" Spit out the blonde boy. "She's just... _gone_?"

"I was just getting to that," the Hokage glared at him. "Upon inspecting the corpses, wrap marks curled around their throats. We believe they were choked to death by incredibly large creatures. We also found that other then the wrap marks the flesh untouched yet on the inside, their internal organs and bones are sliced and crushed."

"Snakes and... chakra scalpel?" He breathed.

"Most likely. Only a very skilled medical nin could preform that technique on the spot."

"But who would do that to Sakura-cha-" His fists clenched and he felt the Kyuubi inside him growl with delight.

Tsunade nodded, completely sober now. "Yes. We have reason to believe that Kabuto Yakushi and Orochimaru have captured Sakura Haruno."

* * *

**Next chapter preview:**

**Naruto: **Finally I'm back! The gangs all here! Except for Sakura-chan and that Sasuke-bastard, that is. We'll get 'em back, I swear!

What the hell is with that Sai guy? He's _reaaaally_ starting to piss me off! What is he thinking? I have a dick! Does he want proof or somethi-

**Deidara: **Next time, _Before the Dawn_ chapter 2! _The Calm Before the Storm_!

**Both:** What the hell? You bastard! Stay away from Sakura-chan!

**Sakura: **We'll see you then!


	2. The Calm Before The Storm

Author's note: Thanks to all the Story Alerts and special thanks to _**Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha**_, _**TeenageCrisis**_, and **_Sakura19Haruno95_** for reviewing! :)

Disclaimer. I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter and I never will. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.K. Rowling respectively.

* * *

"Where's Leader-sama?"

"He said he had urgent business to attend to, un."

"Is that 'urgent business' with Konan?"

_Slap_.

"Pervert."

"_Dammit_, hell cat! That hurt, y'know!"

"Good. Maybe you'll stop acting like a crusty old man sometime."

"Don't count on it."

The door opened, and the three gathered in the room turned. Kakuzu stood in the doorway holding a small pouch of money. He tossed it to Sakura. "Sakura, those are your funds. Make it last and don't expect more anytime soon." He turned to leave, pausing before the door shut. "Oh, and Sakura?"

"Yeah?" She didn't look up from counting. Kakuzu smirked behind his mask.

"Hide."

"Yeah, sure... Wait what?" The heavy door slammed behind him. The three Akatsuki members stared at each other.

Deidara was the first to speak. "I wonder what he meant by hide, un?"

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Dunno-"

A large string of cuss word tore through the base. Followed by a, "DAMMIT HELL CAT. WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

"... I think I got it."

The door was knocked open once more. A bloody Hidan stumbled in, his scythe impaled in his chest, already forgotten. "YOU FRICKEN BITCH WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE LEAVING?"

"Hello Hidan," She said with a bright smile. "How was your ritual? I heard you found a pretty young Kusa nin today."

"I WOULD'VE SACRIFICED A MILLION MORE OF THOSE BITCHES IF I KNEW YOU WERE GOING. WHAT THE FUCK IS LEADER THINKING?"

"Don't be silly. You don't need me to heal you. You always used to regenerate on your own before I came."

"THAT'S BEFORE I HAD A FUCKING MEDICAL NIN TO SPEED IT UP! JASHIN-SAMA GETS MORE OF THOSE LITTLE FUCKS WHEN THERE'S A MEDICAL NIN."

"Y'know what, _fine_. I'll give you these..." She dug through her pouch and resurfaced with two bottles, one with blue pills and the other with a murky purple liquid. "These are chakra pills, and this is that weird shit you like me to use. It won't heal you immediately after your sacrifices, but it will be a lot faster then just waiting for yourself to heal. Take it and get _out_." With a large swing, she kicked the immortal man into the next hallway.

"_Damn bitch_..." He muttered, finally dislodging his spear from his chest.

"Right back at you big guy." With a wave, she shut the door behind her.

"Your little spats with him never get old, hell cat." Kisame snickered.

"Be careful, though, Sakura-chan. One day you might be his sacrifice."

Sakura snorted at the thought. "No way. Leader-sama wouldn't let him. Besides, he likes abusing me too much to just give it all up to Jashin-sama." The other two laughed.

About twenty minutes later Itachi finally walked in the room carrying his packs, a scroll, and a small black box.

"It's about time, un." Deidara glared at the older man. "Couldn't decide which mirror to bring?" Silently, Itachi reached into his pack and brought out seven different mirrors. "... So you decided to bring them all. Of course."

"But seriously, Itachi, where were you?" Sakura asked, eyeing the box curiously.

"Leader-sama required a word with me." Kisame's face turned to horror.

"Wait! So he had 'urgent business' with..." He shuddered visibly. Itachi glared at his partner.

"Kisame!" Sakura smacked his arm.

"Ow!" He rubbed it. "But yeah, sorry man. But just to be sure, you _are_ straight, aren't you?" Sakura smacked him again. "Stop it! I'm just making sure!"

"Here." Itachi handed Sakura the box. When she opened it, she found a dulled kunai. She picked it up and spun it on her finger.

"So... What's this supposed to do?"

"Portkey."

"Port-what?"

"Hold on."

"_Huh?_"

"Hold _on_." Then everyone fell on Sakura. They felt strong tugs at their navels, like they were being torn apart in all directions. Sakura felt herself slowly slip away.

* * *

_"I see, so Sakura came as well."_

_"Hm?"_

_"You can now officially take the Chuunin exams."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"To tell you the truth, exams here can only be taken in teams of three."_

_"B-but sensei you told us that we could decide if we wanted to take it or not."_

_"Yeah. I did."_

_"So you lied?"_

_"Yup. But if I said that _ and _ would have forced you to take it. And even if you didn't want to take the exam, you would've if _ asked you. For his sake. And _'s."_

* * *

"Naruto! You're really back!"

"Kiba! Chouji! Is that you, Shino?" The blonde peered under the taller boy's hood. The bug user snorted indignantly. Naruto laughed. "Wow, it's been a while you guys!"

"How troublesome... and so early in the morning?"

"Nice to see you too, lazy ass."

"Is it really-? Naruto! Hey Hinata, get _out_ here!" The girl pulled her shorter friend out of her hiding place with a snicker. The Hyuuga heiress was bright red.

"N-Naruto-kun! W-welcome back..." He smiled.

"Thanks Hinata. Hey Ino."

"So.. you heard, huh?" They sobered up pretty quickly.

"How'd you guess?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"It's written all over your face, man."

Kiba stroked Akamaru absently. "Sorry, dude."

Ino looked like she was going to cry. "If only we could've done _something_... Forehead wouldn't... She would be-"

"P-poor Sakura-chan..."

Chouji shook his head. "We're doing all we can. Even after two years we're sending out recovery squads every month..."

"B-but still!" She choked out a sob into Hinata's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ino."

"W-what?"

Naruto gave her a smile. "I'll bring her back." She felt her face heat up. With a small nod, she buried her head back into her friend's shoulder. _Oh no... This must be what Hinata feels like..._

* * *

"Sakura-chan, are you ok, un? Wake up, c'mon!"

"Rise and shine, hell cat!" A deep scratchy voice started to belt out. "_Oh what a beautiful mooooorning! Oh what a beautiful daaaaaay! I've got a beautiful-_ Ow!"

"Shut it, un! No one wants to hear it."

"I bet hell cat here does! She _loooves_ my voice. You should hear us when we get drunk. Now _that's_ a good time!"

She groaned. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes groggily. "What was that?"

"You fainted, un."

"What are you _talking_ about Deidara. Kunoichi don't _faint_. We _black out_. It sounds tougher." Sakura said dryly. She took in her new surroundings. The room was dimly lit by a candlelight lamp. There was only one bed, but it was huge, taking up a good portion of the room. She could make out the outline of Kisame lounging in a gigantic arm chair happily. Deidara was kneeling on the bed next to her, looking around them with wide eyes. "Where are we anyway?"

"No clue. I only woke up about five minutes ago and Itachi was just standing there all rapist like." The shark-nin chuckled. "Man really needs to get laid."

Deidara laughed in agreement, sliding off the bed to reach for his clay pouch. Reaching for the lamp, he poured some of the oil sitting on the table besides it and watched as the flame burned brighter.

Kisame suddenly had a dark gleam in his eye. Placing his hands together, he let out a low "_Henge no Jutsu_!" and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. In his place was now an accurate representation of Itachi.

"What are you doing, un?" Deidara was apparently very curious as he watched Kisame-Itachi strip off his cloak and hitai-ate, leaving them in a heap on the floor.

"Oh look at me~!" Kisame-Itachi sang, strutting in a mockingly-seductive way across the room. "Aren't I sexy?"

"Put it back on, idiot!" Sakura pulled the covers over her eyes, hiding her obviously growing blush. Itachi would be murderous, for lack of a better word, once he found out what Kisame did and Sakura wanted absolutely no part of it.

Kisame launched himself on the bed, knocking Deidara off and to the floor before rolling on him. "The hell, un?" The blonde grunted in protest, pushing the taller man off him.

"Hey look what I found!" The Itachi look-alike proudly displayed a box of cigarettes he had dug up from the nightside table. He lit it and took a long drag before spitting it out in disgust. "Ew it tastes like garbage!" He caught sight of himself in the mirror and stopped his gagging. He posed, cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth. "But _damn_, I look good." Sakura and Deidara suddenly felt uneasy.

"Uh, Kisame, un. You _are_ straight, right?"

The ex-Mist nin spluttered. "O-of course I am! Retard! And I can prove it too!"

Sakura laughed. "And how are you going to do that?" He smiled menacingly.

"Like this. Come here, hell cat!" He tackled Sakura down onto the bed.

Normally, she wouldn't be fazed. Kisame was one of the bigger, heavier Akatsuki members, so he- along with Hidan and Kazuku- was often assigned as her Taijutsu/grappling sparring partner. She was pretty much used to being pinned down by the older nin. With _Itachi_, on the other hand... especially shirtless- or near-shirtless; fish net shirts don't really count as "shirts"- it was _extremely_ foreign.

"G-get off!" She placed her foot on his chest and tried to kick up, but Kisame only chuckled.

"Kisame, you jack ass!" Deidara was pissed, to say the least. "Get away from Sakura-chan, un!" He stood behind Kisame and started pulling. Sakura started thrashing.

The door opened and they stopped moving, frozen in their positions. A tall, wide, dark bearded man stood at the doorway. He was flushing furiously.

"Well, er, I'll let yeh young'uns jus' finish up. 'Ave fun." And the door closed once more.

They took a hesitant look towards each other. Deidara was bent over, his arms were wrapped tightly around Kisame-Itachi's waist, his feet wide apart and his knees bent to support the pressure. Kisame's lower half was up in the air save one of his legs that was placed underneath Sakura, one of his hands gripping her ankle the other pinning her hands above her head. Sakura was embarrassed to find one of her legs high above Kisame's head with the other braced on the bed for support and leaning her hips against Kisame's knee, her hands pinned against the headboard and gripping the wood so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

After a while, she let out a low cough that sounded like a snicker. Deidara snorted. The bed was shaking with their hysterics.

"That poor guy," Sakura sympathized through her hiccups.

"At least it was someone we don't know, un. I mean if that Uchiha-bastard-"

"What. Are. You. Doing."

"Ah... h-hey there, Itachi... _sama_? _Sama_!" Kisame-Itachi corrected himself shakily. He dropped the jutsu hastily. "Um we're not doing anything?"

Itachi glowered and Kisame suddenly remembered where he was. With a yelp, he launched himself off the bed and threw his hands up in the air, ignoring the indignant mutterings of Deidara. "I-I swear! I didn't do anything! They drugged me! Mind control! Don't worry, dude! We're sorry we didn't wait for you to get started! Next time it can be the four of us!"

Sakura's mouth dropped open.

"Ki... Sa... Me..."

The tall man from earlier lumbered in, pudgy fingers covering his eyes.

"Y-yer done now aren't yeh? I can come in, can't I?"

"Yup we're done!" Sakura snatched up her cloak and Deidara's arm, making a break for the open door. The man was close behind, the door closing in time to muffle Kisame's scream.

Deidara was cracking up. "Oh God! That Kisame-idiot, un!"

"Eh... A'e yeh sure them two will be alright?" Now that they were in the hall, the man appeared genuinely worried about the man with the odd blue skin.

Sakura shrugged as more protests came from the door. "Itachi wouldn't jeopardize the mission. Nothing I can't fix up. They'll be done in a little while. Come to think of it, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Sakura Raikoune, and this is Deidara."

He straightened up to his full, grand height. "The name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

"So, Hagrid-san. Where are we anyway, un?"

"Yeah, it doesn't appear to be the castle described in the mission briefing," Sakura studied the creaky floor boards and peeling painted walls.

"Oh this place? No, it's not Hogwarts. Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron."

* * *

"Where are we going, un?"

Sakura scanned the sheet of parchment Hagrid had given her before his departure. "Some place called Gringots..." She pointed. "It's right there."

"Holy shit." Kisame muttered as they entered the grand doors. Sakura glanced up and searched for him. Remembering what happened earlier with a smirk, she looked lower and spotted him.

_"Oh hell no."_ Kisame had stated after reading the scroll from Pein. _"I don't care if this is an infiltration mission, I am _not_ doing _that_."_

_"Oh please, Kisame. It's just a little aging jutsu."_

_"Why don't _you_ do it then?"_

_"Because I'm already sixteen. What are you, forty two?"_

_"Thirty two, thank you very much."_

Now she was glad to say there was less of a height difference between all of them. Deidara, although he was only nineteen, still had to use the jutsu and was now a good inch shorter then her at five foot two and his blonde hair cut off around his shoulders. Kisame was still sulky from Itachi's Sharingan punishment from that morning and now stood at five foot ten, his appearance modified through a small henge technique that made his hair a dark brown and skin sickly pale without the blue shade or the gils even if his teeth were still abnormally sharp. Itachi was around five foot six, the deep lines around his eyes from his years of Sharingan usage all but gone, his dark hair was much shorter then she was used to. If Sakura wasn't such a well trained kunoichi, she probably would've been all over them squealing about how "adorable" they all were. At least, that's what a few of the civilians in the streets of Diagon Alley did.

"Um excuse me?" She walked up to one of the strange short men at a desk. A goblin, she thought they were called. "We're trying to take some money out of our safe, could you help us?"

"Safe number?"

"Um," She glanced back at her team mates. Kisame looked baffled and Deidara just shrugged. She turned back to the goblin. "I think it would be under 'Akatsuki?'" She answered uncertainly, wondering if they should have brought their cloaks and hitai-ates for verification. The goblin sneered at her.

"We have no vaults under that name, young lady. I'm _so_ sorry." Sakura doubted he really was. Confused, she started back to the others. Itachi breezed by her and glared the small man straight in the eyes.

"Would the name 'Kakuzu' mean anything to you?" The goblin blanched and fumbled with his desk drawer. He pulled out a key and nodded to them.

"R-right this way."

"Oh," Sakura remembered what the masked nin had said earlier that day. "And he doesn't need to know about this little exchange. Does he?" She smiled sweetly, words contrasting sharply from the kunai placed against the goblin's throat.

"O-of course not, ma'am."

They were led into a dark corridor and onto a small railway cart. Piling in, the cart seemed to move on its own until they reached a large vault door. The goblin unlocked the door and with a small burst of green smoke, it opened. To their amazement, there were piles after piles overflowing of gold, silver, and bronze coins scattered around the room.

Deidara whistled. "He sure gets around, doesn't he, un?"

Sakura grinned widely. "You know what this means, don't you?"

Kisame looked mortified. "Oh no..."

"Oh _yes_!" She cheered. "We're going _shopping_!"

* * *

"Naruto, these are your new team mates. Kana Himegawa and Sai."

The blonde sighed and studied the two teenagers, one boy and one girl. The boy was dark haired, tall, and thin, his skin deathly pale. His face, he noted with shock, closely resembled Sasuke's. The girl was short, her light brown hair framing her face. He was happy to say she looked nothing at all like Sakura.

"I'm Kana. It's nice to meet you!" She smiled and offered her hand to shake. Naruto smiled despite himself. Definitely nothing like Sakura.

"Naruto Uzumaki. And you must be Sai."

"Yes." The other boy examined his new team with interest. He recalled Danzo's words along with what his book had taught him. He smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Dickless." Tsunade chortled and Shizune flushed.

"What?"

Kana spoke up for him. Hands on her hips, she looked at him questioningly. "Why would you say something like that? It wasn't very nice."

Sai was confused. "What do you mean? I meant no harm, Flat Chest."

"Why you little-!"

"Isn't it great we're all getting along!" Kakashi was kneeling on the windowsill, his nose still lodged into his book.

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"Yeah, well, today I got lost on the road of life."

"LIAR! APOLOGIZE!" Tsunade groaned and placed her head on the desk in front of her. One of the many things she hated, people screaming when she was drunk. Kana stared at them in shock while Sai studied them in amazement. So this was what a teacher-student relationship was like. He would need to write it down later.

"Yeah yeah," Kakashi smiled, unfazed. "So." His book snapped shut. "We're going to Suna. Pack up and meet at the front gate in twenty five minutes."

"Hm? But why Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto smiled wide. "Are we going to visit Gaara?"

"No. Kankuro. Gaara's not there."

"Why not?"

"Because he was captured by the Akatsuki."

* * *

"Ah, shinobi. It's been a while since I've seen any of your people in these parts." They looked at him in alarm. "Do not worry, I have no intention of revealing your secret. Now whose first?"

"Uh, I guess me?" Kisame stepped forward, hands shoved into the pockets of his new civilian clothes.

"Wand arm?" Kisame stared at him blankly. "Writing hand?" He looked to his team mates for assistance. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Which arm do you carry Samehada with, stupid."

"Oh!" He raised his right arm. With a wave of his wand, Olivander sent a measuring tape his way. Bustling around the shop, he pulled out a beaten shoe box.

"Oak and kappa water. Thirteen inches, very springy. Go ahead and give it a wave." Kisame swung his arm about awkwardly. A spark of red light burst out the end and shattered one of the windows. Olivander snatched the wand back and with a wave of his own the cracks were gone. "No, no. Here. Eucalyptus and shrake scale. Twelve and a half inches. Very bendy, great for transfiguration. Odd combination, but it just might work. Go ahead."

Kisame glanced nervously at the now-fixed window. "You sure about it?" The man nodded. With a cringe, he shut his eyes and waved his hand again. A spiral of blue light danced out and burst in a tiny explosion. Deidara whooped and Olivander clapped.

"Wonderful!"

"What did I break?"

"Nothing, nothing." He boxed the wand and waved Deidara forward. "Arm?" He lifted his left. "Ten inches, mahogany with powdered doxy wings. Nice for hexes, not that you would need it, right? Right." Deidara, eager to see an explosion, swung his arm. It slipped out of his hand and lodged itself in the shelf behind Sakura's head.

"Eek!"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan!"

"Paper birch and fire crab, twelve inches." He took it away as soon as it reached the blonde's hand. "Blackbean and hippocampus hair. Eight inches."

Deidara sighed as a flower pot exploded. "Not big enough, un..." He muttered sadly at the pathetic excuse for an explosion.

Olivander handed him another wand. "Nine and one half inches, hickory with manticore poison. Flowy." Deidara waved the wand and a stream of water shot out in Itachi's face.

Deidara smiled. "Y'know I think this one will work just fine."

Olivander laughed. "Maybe so, but I have another one in mind." He handed over another wand. "Black ash and erumpent horn. Ten inches." The end sparked and fizzled yellow. He looked disappointed at the lack of flash. But Olivander just smiled. "I think that one likes you a little better." And sent him back.

Itachi stepped forward and wordlessly raised both his arms. As the tape measurer approached him, Olivander peered down at the boy. "Ah, an Uchiha, I see. I know just the thing. Indian rose chestnut and occamy feather, fourteen inches. Best when used for charms." Itachi flicked his wrist and on the first try a smoky silver snake swirled around. He flicked it again and it was gone. "Splendid, splendid. And now the young lady."

Sakura smiled and walked forward. Lifting her right hand, the tape measurer flew around her frantically as it's master bustled around the shelves. "So... do you get a lot of customers?"

"Yes yes, so very busy especially this time of year. Here you are, my dear. Mountain hemlock and veela hair, thirteen inches."

She lifted her arm but Olivander shook his head. "Give me that, this is white spruce with dragon heartstring, twelve and a half inches." With a flick of the wrist, the lights flashed out. "Not to worry." The man fixed them and handed her yet another.

The pattern went on for a little while. "A tricky customer, are we?" He smiled as she placed the sixth reject on the table in front of her. "Oh well, as we say, seventh time's the charm. There's a wand out there for everyone."

"I'm really sorry, sir." Kisame snickered.

"If you don't mind me asking, Olivander-san, is there anything you have in stock with cherry wood?"

The other shinobi looked at him in confusion. Olivander looked thoughtful. "Why Mr. Uchiha I believe I have just the thing. I can't believe I didn't think of it to start with." He moved to the very back of the shop.

"Hell cat..." Kisame couldn't even finish his sentence he was laughing so hard. Sakura flushed angrily.

"Oh shut up! It's harder then it looks!"

The bells above the door ringed as a pudgy English boy entered along with an elderly woman. He fidgeted under the stares of the intimidating people to tall and well built to be first years. Mr. Olivander returned, in his arms a very dusty box.

"Ah, Mr. Longbottom, you're here to replace your old wand aren't you?" He nodded slowly. "I'll be with you in a moment. Miss Raikoune, I've had this one for a while. Very stubborn, can't seem to find an owner she likes, the poor girl." He pulled it out and handed it to Sakura. "Fire cherry and phoenix tears. It took a long time to convince the bird to give some up, and it's the only one I've ever made from that core. Eleven inches."

Sakura looked at it with interest. "Don't phoenix tears have healing properties?"

"Yes. I'm sure someone like you would put it to good use."

Taking a deep breath, she waved the wand around once more. From the end, a blinding white light burst out and when it faded, the ground was littered with small pale cherry blossoms. Smiling at the man, she pulled out their money pouch. "I'll take these four, please." Extracting twenty one gold Galleons, they gathered their belongings and started for the door, nodding at the boy on their way out.

* * *

"Why the fuck do I have to go with you?"

"Because Pein already had a mission for Zetsu. You got a good hold on him?"

"I got the little shit, don't worry. Let's hurry him back to Leader-sama already. If we're alone with this little fuck any longer, he's going to be the next sacrifice."

"You are a sick little bastard, aren't you?"

"And fucking proud of it. You better believe it, bitch."

* * *

**Next chapter preview:**

**Kiba:** These Akatsuki members... they're crazy strong. Even Shizune-neechan and that Chiyo-grandma can't hold on forever. Naruto you better come out of that battle alive, or Akamaru and I are going to kick your ass in hell! What's that? You know something about Haruno? You bastard, what did you do to her?

**Kisame: **Hehe, hell cat, that hat really knows you! Next time, _Before the Dawn_ chapter 3! _Into the Abyss_!

**Sakura:** We'll see you then!

* * *

Author's note: If you didn't already, take a minute to imagine Itachi actually doing the whole cigarette thing. He'd be the best drunk ever. xD I'd really appreciate if you left a review, even an anonymous one. They really make my day :)

You can already tell I moved things around. Remember this is AU. I don't remember any instances in _Naruto_ canon where there were two-man teams, so I introduced Sai early and threw in one of my OCs. Don't worry, she won't become a Mary Sue and I'm debating right now if I should even pair her with anyone. Posibilities, posibilities.

I'm sorry for the filler chapter! Next chapter I swear is where things start picking up!

Thanks for reading! x3


	3. Into the Abyss

Author's note: Thanks to the reviewers! **_Sakura19Haruno95_**, **_Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha_**, **_Rain of the Stars_**, and _**Minako-senpai**_. And thanks for the favorites and story alerts :) I love you guys x3

Disclaimer. I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter and I never will. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.K. Rowling respectively.

* * *

_Damn_, Shizune coughed up the blood clogging her throat. The mid afternoon sun was steaming down on them, which didn't make it any easier for the already exhausted shinobi. This Akatsuki asshole was strong, even Chiyo-sama was winded. Kiba and Akamaru were to her right, recovering from the last blow the puppet master had sent their way. She stole a side glance at Kana. The new Chuunin could barely stand up, the blood was flowing so freely from the slice in her knee. It was only minutes until the poison took it's toll, even if she was a medic nin she was still an amateur and wouldn't be able to push it from her blood stream alone.

She suddenly wished for Sakura, even Ino. But the blonde girl was still working on Kankuro back in Suna and there was little to no chance she would even be able to find them out in the desert. Shizune had insisted on staying back with her, but since she was the stronger of the two and more powerful medic she would be needed on the battle field.

Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and Shikamaru were pursuing the other Akatsuki member. Last she had heard from them before their transmitters broke was they had finally picked up the Kazekage's sand trail. She hoped they would make it on time.

Sasori looked grim. No matter how "soft" Konoha shinobi were claimed to be, they were still amazingly powerful. He knew this battle was going to be over soon, and that he would not come out of it alive. He summoned his last puppet and placed his pack full of potions and scrolls he had discarded earlier inside. He sensed the enemies stiffen.

"W-what are you doing?" He heard the youngest girl demand.

He smiled, going out into a full smirk as she heard her heartbeat pound louder in fear. "I'm sending a little something to my comrades." He turned back to his puppet, pulling the ring from his finger and placing it in the puppets mouth. "Go back to the base. Leader-sama will tell you where the brat and Sakura are, they'll know what to do with it." The puppet disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"S... Sakura..." He heard another voice. Facing them once more, he saw the black haired woman shaking. "What have you done with her?"

"Hm? Princess?" He asked lightly, adding in his personal nickname for her. He already knew about her; he was one of the only ones that did. He smiled cruelly. "We're just having a bit of fun with her." She and the dog boy rushed forward angrily. His puppets knocked them over again. "Oh, I almost forgot. I should have told you earlier but your precious Kazekage is gone."

"W-what do you mean?" His grandmother's voice could barely be heard.

He smiled at her. "I mean, we already took the demon from within him. Hidan just wanted to sacrifice him, and that's the only reason we still have the body. He's _dead_. Long dead."

* * *

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was crowded to say the least on the morning of September 1st. There were small children clinging to their parents, teenagers of all shapes and sizes laughing at nothing in particular, and adults sobbing into their handkerchiefs. It seemed odd, though. At least to Sakura. She felt like something was off in this portrait, like one of those "find what's missing" puzzles. There was something unbearably sad about it all. Boarding the train, she followed her team mates towards the back of the train. Absently petting her new kitten, an American Short Hair, Tamako, she took the window seat and sighed.

They had already spent two months on this mission but couldn't actually _do_ anything. But apparently Leader-sama had known all about that. If he had already known about it why couldn't he tell us in the first place? It would have been nice to know that they would be on a mission for six months with only four to actually complete it in.

"Finally, un... It's about time we got moving." Deidara smirked at his Barn Owl, Taki, who was participating in a dark glare off with Itachi's Greater Sooty Owl Kuromine. Itachi did nothing to stop it. After all, as long as they were in their cages, nothing would be broken. Kisame was staring back and forth between his Red Spotted Toad Jiropi and Tamako, as if daring the cat to even try to eat his pet.

"Ah," Itachi agreed, flipping the page of an advanced course seventh year text book. In the past two months they had to study hard to be up to Hogwarts standards. Itachi and Sakura even made an effort to pass that and purchased books at levels most Aurors could only hope of being at. The compartment door slid open and three teenagers entered.

"Mind if we sit here? All the other compartments are full." A dark haired boy with glasses asked.

"Not at all," Sakura smiled. They placed their luggage on the rack and sat down on the opposite side.

"Are you all first years?" The blonde girl asked, a dreamy vibe to her voice. "You're all rather tall for your age."

"No, we're sixth years." Kisame told them. They looked surprised.

"Really? Neville and I are the same. What houses are you in?"

"Um we're not sure yet, un. It's our first day."

"Oh you must be the transfer students. Papa told me about you. It was in last month's _Quibbler_." She displayed the magazine. "You're from that magic school in Japan. Akatsuki, was it?"

"Right." Sakura smiled. "My name is Sakura Raikoune."

"Deidara Katsu." If Deidara had abandoned all remains of his clan, he was more then happy to adopt a new name. And what better then the word he used to explode things? None he could think of.

"Kisame Hoshigaki." He smiled, showing off his sharp teeth. Sakura elbowed him when she saw their faces.

Itachi didn't even look up. He just flipped to the next page of his book. Sakura sighed. "That's Itachi Uchiha."

Deidara glared at the Uchiha. "Don't even bother with him, he's a prick." Itachi glared up from his book at him. "What? You _are_."

"Hn." And that was all he needed to say.

"Oh yeah, I remember you now. You were those people from _Olivander's_."

"Longbottom-san, was it?" Sakura recalled. He nodded.

"I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Luna Lovegood." The girl offered.

"And I'm Harry Potter." The last boy nodded at them. The shinobi sent a wordless signal. This was one of the boys the Hogwarts leader had made the condition about. The boy they were to protect.

"Mr. Olivander..." Luna said sadly. "It's too bad about him."

"I heard he disappeared the next day." Sakura said.

Neville nodded. "Gran and I think we were the last ones he sold to." With a surprised yelp, he dove under the seats to retrieve his escaping toad. "Trevor! Get out from there!"

The door to the compartment slid open and a group of giggling younger girls stood there.

"You ask him!"

"No you!" Deidara rolled his eyes as he inspected the lock on Taki's cage.

"I'll do it!" A dark haired girl pushed to the front of the group and smiled sweetly at Harry. "Hi, Harry. I'm Romilda. Romilda Vane." She paused, as if they were expected to have heard about her. "Why don't you join us in our compartment." She lowered her voice in to a stage whisper. "You don't have to sit with _them_." She indicated to Neville's bottom, which was shaking as he madly groped around for Trevor, Luna's oddly colored glasses that made her look like a multicolored demented owl, Sakura's bright pink hair, Deidara's abnormally long hair, Itachi who looked like he just murdered someone, and Kisame who just plain looked funny.

Harry looked up at them coldly. "They're friends of mine." Sakura smiled inwardly. She might just like this kid.

"Oh." The girl was taken aback. "Are you su-"

"He said no already." Sakura snapped at her. The girls jumped and retreated.

"People expect you to have cooler friends then us," Luna stated. Her words made everyone in the compartment feel awkward. Except for Itachi. He. Feels. _Nothing_.

"You are cool." Harry argued. "None of the was at the Ministry. They didn't fight with me. None of them were smart enough to transfer into Hogwarts."

Luna beamed up at him. "That's a very nice thing to say." And returned to her reading.

As their conversation was thrown back and forth between details they had already read about in their files, something called 'Quiddich' that appeared to be a sport of some type, and Luna's occasional input about some odd creature, the shinobi started to fade out. They could feel the faint tug of Pein's mental connection tapping at the back of their minds for some time now and hadn't had the time to respond.

They slipped back, knowing that on the outside it would only appear as if they had dropped off to sleep. In their mind's eye, they could see the extracting statue looming in front of them. They took their places on the fingers, Sakura standing at attention between the foggy forms of Zetsu and Kisame. She felt her ring glowing bright blue and made an effort for her physical body to cover it back on the train.

"It's good to see you could make it." Pein chided, slightly annoyed by the fact he had to call them for so long.

"We can't stay for long. The train is scheduled to arrive at the school in an hour."

Pein nodded. "Then I shall be brief."

Deidara raised his hand, looking very annoyed. "Who the hell is that, un? And why is he standing in Danna's place?"

"Hi hi!" The man jumped up and down from his place on the other side of Pein. "I'm Tobi, Deidara-sempai!"

"Tobi!" Pein admonished with a sharp glare. Tobi stopped jumping and waved at Sakura.

"Pretty lady! Pretty lady! Is Tobi a good boy? Tobi's a good boy, right? Right?" Sakura laughed uneasily.

"Sure, Tobi's a good boy."

"Leader-sama, what is the meaning of this." The cold tone of Itachi's voice startled her. He was full out glaring at Tobi, not in the teasing way as he did for Deidara. He looked just plain murderous.

"This is Tobi." Pein introduced simply. "He is the replacement for Sasori." Tobi waved at them all again.

"Did something happen to Danna?" Sakura questioned worriedly. They had received Sasori's puppet at the Leaky Cauldron some weeks ago but hadn't been able to get in contact with him or Pein since then. There was no note or anything on the side. It was full of Danna's poisons and antidotes and research. It was odd; Sasori usually would have notified them if he was sending something their way. Even stranger, as soon as they retrieved it, the puppet broke down and didn't move again.

"He was killed." Deidara looked like he was going to be sick. Even Kisame and Hidan were quiet.

"Who did it," He asked quietly.

"Konoha nin. It was the Hokage's attendant, two of her Chuunins, and one of the Elders of Suna. The Elder didn't survive back, but the Kazekage was brought back to life."

Hidan growled. "Those damn little shits. Took off my head trying to get that little fuck back." He snorted. "Take him. Jashin-sama doesn't care for those _monsters_." He spat the last word out. For someone who had no true ties to the Akatsuki, he still got rather worked up when one of his colleagues got injured. She had confronted him on this once before when Deidara had blown his arm off. _"I'm only upset because if that bastard dies, I didn't get to kill him off myself."_ He had told her.

"From what I could gather, the Nine Tailed host has gotten much more powerful since he left Konoha. Unlike the other villages who shun their host, he is protected by all forms of their shinobi. We must be careful when dealing with the Hidden Leaf." Pein concluded, looking all of them straight in the eye. They nodded.

Back on the surface world, she felt her physical body being disturbed. "Deidara, Kisame, Itachi, we need to go." They nodded and disappeared, a smoky burst of chakra left where they were standing. Sakura bowed deeply to Pein and opened her eyes.

Harry was standing over her. "Letter. For all of you." He handed her a piece of parchment. Faking a yawn, she looked around the room. They had been joined by two more teenagers, a thin gawky red head and a girl with bushy brown hair.

"Ah... who are you two, un?" Deidara murmured sleepily, building up the act. The girl laughed.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ron Weasley." She gestured to the boy beside her. He nodded before swallowing a wiggly chocolate frog.

Kisame opened his letter. Looking up he asked, "Whose Professor Slughorn?"

"New teacher. Neville and I got letters, too." said Harry. "Well, I suppose we'll have to go, won't we?"

As they made their way along the corridor, they listened to Neville worry over what they were called for and Harry reassure him over and over again. Students' faces were pressed against the glass to get better looks at the group, all except for one girl who looked distinctly of Asian descent, who made a show of diving into a compartment which, by the soft protests inside, wasn't hers to begin with. And if it was, she had landed on some of the stuck up girls like the ones they had encountered earlier.

"Harry, m'boy!" A large man jumped at the sight of them as they entered the compartment. "Good to see you, good to see you! And you must be Neville Longbottom, and the four transfer students from Japan! Welcome, welcome!" They nodded uneasily.

"Now do you know everyone?" Slughorn was addressing the two Gryffindors. "Blaise Zabini is in your year of course." The boys ignored each other. "This is Cormac McLaggen, perhaps you've come across each other...? No?" The boy raised his hand as was returned with a nod. "And this is Marcus Belby-..." He gave a smile, it looked like it hurt. "And _this_ charming young lady tells me she knows you!" He finished with a flourish. A red head who looked surprisingly like Ron made a face at the boys. Kisame snickered at her expression. "And excuse me, I'm not sure I picked up your names correctly from the headmaster."

"Ah..." Sakura felt a strong unease being in this room. "Sakura Raikoune."

"Deidara Katsu, un..." Deidara muttered, shifting his weight.

"Kisame Hoshigaki." He added a toothy grin just for good measure. He noticed the girl jump from the corner of his eye and smirked.

"Itachi Uchiha."

"Splendid, splendid!"

* * *

"Tamako! Come on! The other's are waiting for us! Where'd you go!" Sakura was starting to get frustrated. "You damn hell cat!" She punched the wall, grimacing at the indent she made before rushing on.

She was kicking open the doors now to save time. Every single one was empty. Reaching the final one, she threw the door open. And there she was, that damn cat. Floating. Well, they were at a magic school. Maybe the was some no-cats-on-the-floor policy they enforced. Well that was stupid.

"What are you doing?" She ran over, tripping on something. She heard a muffled moan. "The hell?" Lifting her cat, she groped around and felt a piece of fabric at her finger tips. Lifting it up, she found a petrified Harry, nose bloodied and face bruised. "Harry?" She brought her fingers to his nose and held back a giggle as he winced. "Relax. It's only broken."

Reaching for her wand, she ran through a list of healing spells in her head. She didn't want to use chakra unless she really needed to. It clicked in her head. "_Episkey_." The bones snapped back into place.

"Thanks," He muttered, wiping the blood off with his sweater sleeve.

"No problem. Now let's get out of here." She handed him his cloak. A sharp whistle blew out and they started to run. They felt the train start moving beneath them.

Swinging open the door, she leapt for the sliding platform and landed smoothly, pulling Harry up as he slipped.

"Sakura-chan!" Her team mates ran up to her. "Let's go! Hagrid-san said he would meet us by the gates."

"Harry?"

"Tonks?" A mousy-haired woman walked across the platform to them.

"You're all supposed to be at the castle."

"I ran into Malfoy."

"Oh," she nodded. Waving her wand, a large silvery wolf tore through the night and towards the castle.

"Was that a Patronus?" Harry questioned as they started the long trek towards the castle. The shinobi could have been there in minutes, but they didn't want to demonstrate anything in front of the wizards.

"Yes, I'm sending word to the castle that I've got you or they'll worry." She seemed to finally notice the four shinobi. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met. I'm Tonks."

"Sakura."

"Deidara."

"Kisame. And this is Itachi."

"Ah."

"What are you doing here anyway, Tonks?"

"I'm stationed at Hogsmeade now, to give the school extra protection."

Sakura looked at her. "So you're an Auror. I hope you're not stationed alone there-"

"Oh no, I've got others with me, I should handle it just fine." They reached the gate. "Here we are then. Look there's someone coming for you all now."

Two lanterns were bobbing in the distance. As they approached, they recognized the cheery face of Hagrid as well as an unfamiliar head with greasy black hair.

"Professor Snape." Harry choked out.

"Well, well, well," The man tapped the chains with his wand and the gate swung open. "Nice of you to turn up, Potter."

"Professor, don't be so hard on the kid," Hagrid smiled down at them. "Evenin', Tonks."

"Hagrid. Why is Snape here? Surely you could have handled this on your own."

"Well, the professor 'ere found yer Patronus and insisted he came along to pick yeh all up. Sumthin' 'bout extra protection."

"Of course," sneered Snape. "We don't want _the Chosen One _to disappear on us, do we?" He glanced down his crooked nose at the shinobi. "You four, off to Sorting. I'll deal with Mr. Potter here on my own."

Hagrid hurried them off to the castle. Dressing quickly into their school robes, they were lead into the Great Hall through a side door. What appeared to be the 'Sorting' was still in session, and not many people noticed them as they slipped in and stood behind the Headmaster. The old man turned and smiled at them. They bowed. As the last name was called, a girl by the name of Zellar, Carolyn into Ravenclaw, the Headmaster stood.

"Thank you, Sorting Hat. But we still have a few more to go." The Great Hall was filled with whispers. One of the teachers on the table tapped his glass for attention. The man Hagrid had told them was called Dumbledore nodded at his colleague before addressing the students once more. "Thank you, Professor Flitwick. As many of you are aware, we are receiving four transfer students from our sister school- I believe it was pronounced _Akatsuki_- in Japan who need to be sorted. They will be entering the sixth year classes. Now, if you'd please, Professor McGonagall."

The woman pulled out a new list. "Hoshigaki, Kisame."

Kisame walked forward and grinned as the woman had to go up reach on her toes in order to place the hat on his head.

"Ah... Shinobi are we?" Kisame chuckled at the voice whispering in his ear. "Been a while since I've seen your kind in these parts. But never mind that. You're courageous, oh yes. Almost to the point of stupidity at times."

"Hey!" Kisame exclaimed out loud. The hat snickered at him.

"It's not always a bad thing. You should know that sometimes it's best to trust your instincts. Loyalty, that's a strong point, yes it is. You would die to protect your friends, that's rather unusual for a shinobi. Especially a missing nin. Can't ignore that. Hufflepuff perhaps, but no... GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted.

The table at the far end of the hall cheered. Neville Longbottom waved him over, Ron giving him a cheerful whack on the shoulder.

"Katsu, Deidara."

The hat slid down over his ears. Blushing, he propped it up with a finger. "Hm, a lot like your friend. Very brave, I can see that. You're pretty simple, that much I can see. Your partners mean a lot to you, don't they?" Deidara felt his face heat up more. "I didn't mean it that way, but be lucky that girl can't hear your thoughts. If she heard us right now, she might have assumed you were gay. A suicide bomber? That's not very smart."

_Maybe not, but it sure is fun, un_. He smiled despite himself. _And I'm _not_ gay, un._

"I wouldn't know if it was fun or not. And I never said you were. Definitely not a Ravenclaw. Too straight forward for Slytherine. Better be GRYFFINDOR!"

Sakura smiled as her partner took his place at the table. That was good. She remembered Harry Potter was in that house, and they needed to keep an eye on him at all times. "Raikoune, Sakura." She stepped forward and let the hat be lowered onto her head.

"Finally..." it sighed. "It appears that you are much more, shall I say, _thinky_ then your teammates. You would do spectacularly in any of the houses. Hufflepuff is to reserved for you, but perhaps Ravenclaw would..."

_I'm sorry to criticize your judgement skills, Sorting Hat-san, but if I don't end up in either Gryffindor or Slytherine, my mission is going to be jeopardized and I'm going to turn you into a mother fucking _shit hole. _I heard from Sasori once that Deidara sometimes has explosive diarrhea._

"Definitely not Gryffindor, too evil for that. SLYTHERINE!"

The tables looked shocked as the small, pretty pink haired girl approached the cheering Slytherine table. She smiled sweetly at her new house mates and sat besides a smug-looking blonde boy, all the while plotting the ultimate demise best for a hat.

"Ah... Uchiha, Itachi." McGonagall regained her composure.

The hat was lowered onto Itachi's head. "Very smart, perhaps even more so then your friend," it murmured. "Ravenclaw would be-"

_Shut up_. Itachi mono toned. _Slytherine. _Now.

"S-SLYTHERINE!" It shouted without another word. Itachi threw a smug glance at Deidara.

The blonde snorted. Fingering his clay pouch stored in his pocket, he grinned. _He may have won this battle, but he hasn't won the war, un.

* * *

_

**Next chapter preview:**

**Itachi:** ...

**Sasuke: **Revengerevengerevengerevenge

**Itachi:** ...

**Sasuke: **Revengerevengerevengerevenge

**Itachi:** ...

**Sasuke: **Revengerevengerevengerevenge

**Sakura:** -cracks knuckles-

**Both: **Next time, _Before the Dawn _chapter 4. _Through the Dark._

**Sakura: **We'll see you then!

* * *

Author's note: Ah chapter done! I'm going to try to make an effort to get a chapter up every Saturday. Wish me luck! And sorry about the lack of "chapter preview" this time. But can you guess who's going to turn up next chapter? 8D


	4. AN I'M SORRY!

Authors note: Mk guys, you're probably going to hate me for this so I'm just going to come out in say it. Two words, and we all know and hate them with a "burning passion."

Ok, here it goes.

_Writer's block._

:'O I _KNOW_, RIGHT. I've been working on the chapter all week and I'm not happy with it at all. I'd rather have something up that I'm happy with late then something on time that looks like total crap. It's been a really rough week on me, and I couldn't manage to crank out a new chapter for you in time. So as an apology to all of you (and something I've been planning to do from day one I just keep forgetting about it plus I was a total pain in the ass to him this week I HOPE THIS SOMEWHAT MAKES UP FOR IT DUDE) HERE'S SOME MINDLESS ENDORSEMENT! (is that a real word? Spell check says it isn't :P)

Ok, I have a friend (don't act so surprised, it could happen I'm not _that_ much of a loser :P) here on fanfic that I know in real life named Sean. He has a few stories up at the moment, and I like his writing a LOT. I'm not just saying that because he's my friend, he's seriously gotten really really good at writing in the past year or so. (I know it's not good to compare writing styles to one another since they're all different, but technically his style is a lot nicer then mine. I write my occasionally-crack humor [as you've seen in the past few chapters] inspired randomly on a whim from reading other fics, and he's got these really good ideas I've never seen before on Fanfic.)

I'm serious, go check him out. Copy and paste /u/2457659/SHWN808

If you've read _Hunger Games_, like _Percy Jackson_ crossovers (it's a Norse Mythology one), and random fantasy stories (one has something to do with Greek mythology, I'm not really sure at the moment since he only just uploaded the first chapter and he won't tell me about it -mad- and the other he told me doesn't have a real catagory but it's kinda like _Shaman King_ [or so I'm told, I haven't ever watched it :P]), you might want to try his stories. Even if I don't know the original series(es?) that well, I still like his stuff (DUDE EVEN IF YOU WEREN'T MY FRIEND I'D STILL READ YOUR STUFF xP)

So I'm going to stop wasting your time and get back to homework and rewriting everything. Once again, I'm _really_ sorry about this and I'll do my best not to let it happen again. Thanks and have a good week...


	5. Through the Dark

AN: Reviewers: **Madame Yuko**, **Sakura19Haruno95**, **Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha**, **Rain of the Stars**, **Shining Through** (i loled. a _lot_. when one of my friends asked me to describe my favorite chapter of this story, i used your review ^^), **Nyx**, **yuchi1994**, and two anonymous reviewers that didn't leave a name. Thank you so much for your support! And to everyone else that didn't review but read: thanks! At the moment, I have 12 faves, 21 alerts, and was added to community! (_Reflection of ItaSaku_, courtesy of **Akatsuki Sakura Uchiha**) :) Thanks everyone

Disclaimer. I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter and I never will. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J.K. Rowling respectively.

* * *

_"Like the sakura flower in the springtime, the cosmos is the most beautiful flower in autumn... and in flower language it means 'harmony,' it goes perfectly with most other autumn flowers."_

_ "..."_

_ "Look! Does this go with me as nice as with the cosmos? Am I cute?"_

_ "Y... yeah."_

_ "Hey, why did you hesitate?"_

_ "Hahaha..."_

_

* * *

_

Pansy was blabbering away in her ear. Zabini was insulting Slughorn over something or other, she couldn't tell just what. It was only the first day of school after all. Crabbe and Goyle- she couldn't tell which was which- were shoveling food down their throat, worried that it would all disappear before they had a chance to choke to death or explode from over eating.

This was apparently normal life at the Slytherine table, and Sakura longed for the day she could undo Dumbledore's translation spell.

The night before he had sent for them. He explained more of their mission in detail and about the enchantment he had placed over the portkey. A complex translation charm that allowed them to understand English as well as they would their own language. If they tried, they could still speak in their native language but it cost a bit of effort.

Now all there was left to do was sit there and ignore the students as best as she could. And then he walked in. The other half of their "condition." They called him Draco Malfoy. According to the Slytherine girl squeals that greeted him now and the bustling common room from last night, he was a _god_ to these civilians. She snorted into her eggs, gaining a strange look from Theodore Nott down the table. God? Please.

"Drakey!" Pansy squealed, looping her arms around his neck. He barely grunted in acknowledgement, sitting rigid in his seat on the other side of Pansy. He stared down at the table, seemingly not noticing the gradually cooling porridge before him. Sakura frowned.

"Morning, Malfoy," Blaise greeted. He got a mere nod in response.

"Miss Parkinson, compose yourself."

"Yes sir..." She sang, giving Draco a last coy smirk.

"Now Miss... Raikoune." Snape stared down his nose at her. Reviewing his notes, he smirked. He didn't like these transfer students, not one bit. They were with the Potter boy the night before, he knew they were up to something.

"Yes, Professor?" She smiled sweetly, ignoring the foul words pounding at the back of her mind at the man. She didn't trust him, with the way he held himself like he was hiding something. She would need to bring the greasy-haired man up in the next report.

"Seeing as your..._ academy... _doesn't use the Ministry approved tests," He read down his clipboard, "it appears that you can not partake in any of our NEWT courses." He finished with a sneer.

Itachi, who had appeared behind her, spoke up. "The Headmaster has personally written out our schedules." He passed a folded up piece of parchment to the professor who opened it. Scanning the contents, he grimaced before tucking it into his robes.

"I see... Here you are, then." With a suspicious look, he cleared their schedules and moved along to a now over-stuffed Crabbe/Goyle.

Sakura sighed, unable to completely erase the memory of yesterday's meeting. She held out a piece of toast to Itachi. "Hungry?" He shook his head. She frowned and tossed the still warm bread at his head and missed. He glared.

"What classes do you have? Let me _see_!" Pansy lined up their papers one by one. Examining them, Sakura found- to no surprise- that two of the others were nearly identical to hers. She committed the list to memory. _Charms, Herbology, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Muggle Studies. _Got it.

"Bloody hell..." Crabbe/Goyle muttered, turning to Itachi. "They're the same as Malfoy."

"I'll trade with you, transfer!" Pansy offered too enthusiastically.

Malfoy slowly shook his head, staring off into space. "I doubt any of you could handle most of the classes I'm taking." And with that left for Ancient Runes, Itachi soon after him.

"C'mon, Saku!" Pansy said over-affectionally. "Let's go to Charms. Coming, idiots?" She beckoned to the others, draping her arm over Sakura's shoulder. Sakura stiffened slightly at the contact, but the Slytherines didn't seem to notice.

* * *

"Sai, you bastard!"

"Did you find him?"

"Captain? What happened to Kabuto?"

"No time for that, where'd he go?"

"I found him! Sai!" She raced out into the clearing, her eyes trained on her dark haired team mate.

Sai heard the footsteps getting closer to him and squinted up at the figure on the rock. _So this was the traitor..._

"Hm?" He heard the voice above say. He allowed himself a withering look at the brunette as she approached.

"You idiot!" Kana punched his shoulder. "What if you actually found him? You would have _died_!"

"Jackass!" The blonde soon joined them, looping his hands around the older boy's throat, throttling him.

"Naruto." The boy froze at the sound of the voice. Slowly, as if in a trance, he turned around.

"S... Sasuke."

The Uchiha cooly assessed the small team below. This was not the team he left behind all those years ago. "So. You finally lost the dead weight?"

"Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei aren't dead weight! They're the strongest people I know, you damn bastard!" Naruto snapped. Sasuke snorted, his hold on his katana relaxed as Orochimaru and Kabuto joined him. Yamato and Kana glared. He was mocking them and their senpais.

"Then why aren't they with you?"

"Like you don't know!" The blonde spit out bitterly. He sank back into the familiar stance, placing his hands together. The Uchiha raised his eyebrow, distracted enough not to feel his mentor and senapi still.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Don't screw with me!" He focused the swirling chakra in his hand. "Give her back!"

"What are you talking about, moron?"

"I know you have her! Let Sakura-chan go!"

...

"What?" He didn't dodge the blow even though he knew it was coming. The Rasengan wasn't nearly as strong as Naruto wished it to be. Now standing in the tiny crater he had made, he felt the angry tears flood his eyes and spill out. It was all he could do not to waver with the kunai pressed into the side of Sasuke's throat.

"Give her back..." He forced out. "I'll let you face your idiot brother, I won't stand in your way," he relented, "just give her back... She's my family."

"Fool..." Orochimaru muttered. Naruto's attention wavered and the Kyuubi's chakra flared.

"Don't you know, bastard?" Naruto hissed through his teeth, his flashing blue eyes never leaving Sasuke's coal black. "Your beloved _master_ stole her two years ago. Now give. Her. Back." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, enough for Naruto to notice. "Where is she?"

"She was weak." Kabuto said. Naruto felt the Kyuubi's pulse inside him. "She was bound to be used eventually. Might as well be to good use." He sniffed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"You did _what_?" Sasuke breathed. He unsheathed his katana.

"The girl was for you." Orochimaru said, eyes never leaving the sharpened blade. Naruto was vaguely aware of the rest of Team Yamato closing in behind them as he stood up to face the snake sannin. "Think of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke."

"She was never here," Sasuke forced out. "Where is she?"

Kabuto snorted, a smile pulling at his lips. "She decided to be difficult. She probably didn't get that far." He traced the black note on his hitai-ate, shiny and nearly new. "I doubt she found her way out of Oto no Kuni alive."

The two genin felt their hearts still. Before Naruto had time to recover, Sasuke's katana had found its way through Kabuto's skull.

Extracting it and letting the older teen fall to the ground with a hollow thud, he focused his attention on the ex-Konoha nin. His blade sparked vivid blue. The chirping of birds filled the air around them. "Chidori," Sasuke growled.

The fearful numbness in Naruto's body faded to a burning anger. He felt the Kyuubi stir awake inside him. _Kill him_. It whispered. "Rasengan."

* * *

"Anyone tell me what this one is?"

"It's just water, isn't it?" Kisame whispered to Deidara. He laughed. Slughorn looked slightly confused and opened his mouth to say something just as Hermione's hand sky rocketed up.

"It's Veritaserum, a colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth." She said with a flourish, giving a smug nod to Kisame, who snorted. Deidara rolled his eyes. Another know-it-all.

"Very good, very good! Now," he moved towards a cauldron off murky, bubbling liquid, "this one here is pretty well known... Featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately too... Who can-"

This time Sakura had raised her hand, but was beaten by the bushy haired Gryffindor. "It's Polyjuice Potion, sir." She said. Slughorn looked bemused as he moved onto the next cauldron.

"Excellent, excellent! Now this one here- yes Miss Raikoune?" Sakura smirked at the irritated brunette.

"Amortentia, sir. The most powerful love potion in the world." Several people perked up in the back of the room, and the girls at the Ravenclaw table started giggling amongst themselves. _Way to go, Sakura-chan!_ He full out smirked in the direction of his partner. She caught his eye and waved a little. The girl she was sitting next to followed her gaze and narrowed her eyes before whispering something in Sakura's ear. Sakura looked confused but nodded anyway.

"Quite right. You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?

"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," Hermione added in enthusiastically. "And it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass, fresh parchment, and... cinnamon." She whispered the last one under her breath, blushing furiously. Deidara doubted anyone besides himself and Kisame could even hear her in the first place. He himself could smell the wet earth after it rained, -to no surprise- fire, and- for some reason- fresh strawberries. He made a mental note of that.

"May I ask your name, my dear?"

"Hermione Granger, sir."

"Granger? Granger? Could you possibly be related to Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"No, I don't think so, sir. I'm Muggle-born, you see." There were snickers rising from the Slytherine side of the room, but Slughorn payed them no heed. He beamed at Harry.

"Oho! '_One of my best friends is Muggle-born, and she's the best in our year!'_ I'm assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?"

"Yes, sir." Said Harry.

"Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger. And ten for Slytherine, Miss Raikoune." Slughorn continued on. "Amortentia doesn't really create _love_, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply create a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room- oh yes." He nodded gravely to a couple of boys on the other side of the room. "When you've seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of love." To his utter embarrassment, Deidara found himself nodding along.

"And now it is time for us to start our work."

"Excuse me, Professor? What about that one?" Sakura pointed to the golden concoction bubbling on top of Slughorn's desk. The old man smiled.

"Oho! Yes. That. Well, _that_ one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curios little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it," he turned to the trembling Hermione, "that you know what Felix Felicis does, Miss Granger?"

"It's liquid luck! It makes you lucky!"

"Quite right, take another ten points for Gryffindor." The class was submerged in whispers. Deidara felt a pull at the back of his mind. Kisame nudged him in the side and he nodded.

His eyes became unfocused as he slipped into the mental connection Pein had established for them.

"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"What the hell, hell cat? It was just starting to get interesting." Kisame whined.

"Shut up, Kisame." Itachi dead panned.

"Thanks. We have to make sure Draco Malfoy doesn't win the Felix Felicis." Sakura said.

"Why not, un?"

"You read the mission briefing. Even the tiniest bit of _luck_ has the potential to jeopardize the entire mission." Not for the first time, Sakura wished that Dumbledore had elaborated the tiniest bit more on what the "Death Eaters'" plan was about. Even if it was "classified" information.

"Is that it?" Kisame asked, completely stunned.

"Yes."

"You could have told us that later!" He whined, breaking off his connection.

"-win little Felix here. Off you go!" Deidara flipped his book open to page ten and sighed. Potions were Danna's specialty, and anything that didn't explode in the end seemed like a waste of time to the blonde himself. He stole a glance across the room at the Slytherine shinobi, knowing that Kisame was a lost cause. The Uchiha's sharingan was spinning, rapidly taking in the techniques and instructions in the book. Sakura had taken one peek at the directions and discarded the book completely. Knowing her, she would find a way to make a- what was it again?- Draught of Living Death on her own.

_So_, he glared down at his ingredients, _I'm on my own here._ And set to work cutting his roots. About ten minutes into the project, his potion was as bright a yellow as his hair when it was supposed to be a smooth black. Giving up on the pursuit all together, he settled with observing the rest of the class.

Hermione, to his annoyance, appeared to be the furthest along, her potion a deep purple concoction bubbling beneath her. Sakura was a step behind, with her potion only a shade or two lighter then the recommended color. Frowning, she added in another handful of roots and it darkened immediately. Two Ravenclaw boys and a Hufflepuff were trailing not too far behind. Harry was appearing to be having some trouble reading the instructions in the old tattered book. Itachi failed to notice the dung bomb Kisame had snuck into his potion moments earlier and was now- for lack of a better description- covered head to toe in pure shit. Deidara snickered and turned back to his potion.

_How to fail Draco Malfoy... Hm. _He evaluated the supplies in front of him with interest. Wormwood, aphodel, leftover velerian root shavings, some slimy gunk the book identified as sloth brain, and thirteen sopohorus beans... He smirked. Perfect.

Reaching into his cloak, he pulled out a small brown pouch. Kneading the clay until it was warm enough to be worked, he slowly deactivated the genjutsu that hid his mouths. With one hand he mashed and mixed the wormwood and sloth brain into a sticky goop while the other controlled the steady stream of chakra he pumped into the clay. As he worked, he felt Kisame peer over his shoulder and chuckle.

As Draco scrambled after a fallen bean, Deidara tossed his creation into the bubbling mixture.

"And time's... up!" Slughorn called over the commotion. "Stop stirring, please!"

Slowly he made his way up and down the aisles, silently peering into the cauldrons lined up. He smiled a bit at Sakura's potion and sniffed distastefully at Itachi's, who was shooting daggers at Kisame. When he approached Malfoy's he gave it a curious look. Leaning close he took a long whiff. Deidara formed half of a ram with his hand and released. "Katsu, un." The potion exploded, the bitter smelly root slime drenching Malfoy and Slughorn. Slughorn cleaned himself up with an unspoken charm.

"Clean that up, would you Mr. Malfoy." He moved on. Sakura smiled at Deidara, who gave a smug nod in return. _Take that, Uchiha._ Slughorn gave a disapproving frown at Kisame's empty and unused cauldron and completely ignored Deidara's cooled mucus. He gave a rueful smile at Ron's tar, and to Hermione's an approving nod. When he got to Harry's his face completely lit up.

"A clear winner!" he cried to the rest of the dungeon. "Excellent, excellent, Harry!"

The rest of the dungeon's eyes focused on the Gryffindor. The Slytherines on the other side of the room were fuming. Deidara felt a strong wave of pity as he watched Harry look into everyone's faces, as if he was unable to decide between feeling happy or guilty.

"Good lord, it's clear you've inherited your mother's talent," Slughorn continued to praise. "She was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are- one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!"

* * *

Staggering through the stoned hallway, her breath coming out in shallow gasps and foot steps uneven. She allowed herself a brief glance over her shoulder and felt her heart stop. She leapt out into the opening of the tunnel as the sharpened scythe missed her head by mere inches, a barrage of silver kunai landing in the water below. The blade sliced through the water as the owner pulled it back towards him.

"Impressive, bitch, managing to dodge all that shit coming at you." The deep voice laughed. But... Seeing as I have the worst attack speed in Akatsuki, you shouldn't feel too good about it."

"So I was right," Yugito said with a much braver voice then she felt. "You two are from Akatsuki."

"Nervousness doesn't suit you. If it makes you feel any better, you're the only one left."

"You're not half bad, are ya?" They stepped out of the darkness, their dark cloaks billowing behind them them.

"Oy Hidan. She's the Two Tail. If you get careless, you'll die." The masked one said. The silver haired man snorted as he fully retracted his weapon, the blade scraping the floor with a terrible screech.

"Don't give me that crap, Kakuzu. I'd like to see her try."

* * *

**Next chapter preview:**

**Neville: **Chapter preview? Oh what should I do?

**Lee: **Don't worry, Mr. Longbottom! The power of _youth_ will get us through everything! Those Akatsuki hooligans don't stand a chance against us!

**Neville:** Why do these transfers appear everywhere we go? Harry's getting upset... Why did Professor Dumbledore have to leave now of all times?

**Lee: **Sasuke-san, as your rival I expect much from you! Let's find my beautiful cherry blossom together!Next time, _Before the Dawn _chapter 5! _Foreboding_!

**Sakura: **We'll see you then!

* * *

A/N I'm sorry if this chapter is short/looks rushed/ not as funny or smooth as my earlier ones, I really didn't want to make you guys wait another week. I'll go back and edit it through. I usually don't ask for help with my writing, but I got a bit of it from SHWN808 (thanks Mommy! You're the best even if you are a real-life Gary Stu xDDD) He helped me with the whole get-Malfoy-a-bad-grade thing. And got the power of youth thing stuck in my head for the past few hours. I _needed _to put Lee somewhere in this -_-

Okay guys I have a few things to ask. One, don't you guys hate it when someone kills off a character and then is some total bs way brings them back to life in the next chapter? It's not that I'm planning on doing this in the next few chapters, I just want to know what you guys think. And next, just to see how many people do this, go to SHWN808's page (/u/2457659/) and send him a personal message saying "BRE IS ZEUS BRE IS ZEUS." It's a _looooong_ story that hopefully I'll be able to tell you about in an note/live journal entry/youtube video in the near future.

So thanks guys for putting up with me this week, I'll see you soon!


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